And so this is Christmas. Just a couple more days and we are done with the entire 2017 as well. Time passes by so quickly it’s unbelievable.
Like every other Christmas and end of the year post, I would usually reflect on what I have done in the entire year and take the chance to consider what I would like to do in the next year or so. 2017 has been tough for me, and a very, very hectic one. I have had to go on work trips to New York and Paris, the former one being a 2-weeks long trip that made my heart yearn for home (and the boy) like crazy. I almost suffered a mental breakdown when my boy fell sick on the precious few days that I was supposed to take leave from work and stay at home to rest – I ended up feeling even more stressed up and worn out at home than if I’ve had to go back to work. I’ve had my old curtains removed and new blinds installed throughout the house – something that I’ve been dreading to do for the whole year because of the cleaning involved but got done eventually. I have had my little garden of herbs tidied up with a brand new rack for them (I think it needs tidying up again!) Last but not least, I’ve cooked and baked so many things this year that I don’t think I can remember anything now, except maybe the messy ones like the deep-fried chicken and the chocolate tart.
There are, of course, a few recipes which are the more memorable ones amongst others. One of them is this peach and berries butter cake recipe which I have intentionally saved till Christmas to do a blog post for. I’ve baked this cake to celebrate the guy’s birthday back in September and needed something simple and relaxing. This recipe was what I needed desperately back then – a straightforward recipe, yet healthy and tasty at the same time. More importantly, it received rare compliments from the cake-tasters – probably the only one out of all the three cakes I baked this year!
I am already planning ahead of time and listing down the recipes that I would like to try out in 2018. Let’s just say that there are a lot, as usual. How can there not be, given the many different cultures, races and nationalities that exist in this whole wide world? It’s one of the main reasons why I was motivated to start this blog in the first place – I know I will not run out of ideas till the end of my days!
And as for the the other aspects of my life, I hope to be doing a lot less so that I can focus on my family and myself, perhaps start thinking about how to eat healthier, engage in healthier tasks and do more meaningful things in the social and broader sense. Am crossing my fingers that what I have planned ahead would be realised in the days ahead without much hiccups and unexpected elements.
As for now, I’m just going to sit back, have a slice of my cake and keep thinking that 2018 will turn out to be a piece of cake as well.
Ingredients:
- Unsalted butter: 130g, diced + extra for greasing pan
- Caster sugar: 150g + extra for dusting
- Egg: 2
- Yogurt: 70g
- Milk: 3 tbsp
- Vanilla essence: 1 tsp
- Plain flour: 180g, sifted
- Baking powder: 1.5 tsp, sifted
- Salt: a pinch
- Peach: 2, sliced into thin wedges
- Blueberry: 100g
- Icing sugar (optional): 1 tbsp
Method:
- Preheat oven at 180 degrees Celsius.
- Grease tart pan (with removable base) with butter. Line base with baking paper.
- Beat butter with caster sugar till pale and fluffy.
- Add eggs (one at a time), yogurt, milk and vanilla essence.
- In a separate bowl, combine plain flour, baking powder and salt.
- Mix flour mixture into butter mixture till smooth.
- Pour mixture into tart ring. Level with the back of a spoon.
- Arrange peach slices and berries on top of mixture, pressing in slightly.
- Sprinkle evenly with remaining caster sugar.
- Bake 40min till brown. Leave to cool for 15min before removing from ring.
- Sprinkle with icing sugar to serve.
Disclaimers:
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This recipe was kindly adapted from Baking With Anastasia’s ‘Easy Cake With Berries & Peach‘. I reduced the amount of caster sugar in the original recipe as the cake would eventually be sweetened by the sugar toppings right before and after baking. This worked really great for me.
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I added vanilla essence into the cake batter – the aroma in the entire house while the cake baked on was soooo amazing!
Serving:
1 cake (about 8 – 10 slices)
